Supes defend south Marinites

By

Samantha Kimmey

01/09/2014

The Marin County Board of Supervisors sent a letter this week to Golden Gate National Recreation Area about a proposed reservation system and altered shuttle service at Muir Woods National Monument. Supervisors commended the park for abandoning a proposed parking lot on Panoramic Highway—a plan sharply opposed by many southern Marin residents—saying that parking should, on the contrary, be reduced. Echoing the sentiments of a vocal group of residents, supervisors asked the park to consider an independent analysis of the carrying capacity of Muir Woods, as well as implement caps on the reservation system so that annual visitation does not jump beyond current levels, which in 2012 topped 970,000. Supervisors also suggested the park expand options offered by the Muir Woods shuttle such that tourists could be picked up close to their starting points, like San Francisco and the ferry landings, rather than near Muir Woods itself, in order to decrease congestion in the area. Some residents, offering comments during the board’s Tuesday meeting, asked supervisors to assert county control over roads to the monument and ban large buses from those roads. The public may comment on the proposed reservation system until Jan. 11 by visiting http://parkplanning.nps.gov/muwo_parking.